Pages

How To | 15 Ways To Be A Morning Person

Although we all say that we hate 'morning people' I know for a fact that we all secretly wish that we could be like them.. as we press the snooze button on our alarm for the third time! We all secretly wish that we could wake up happy and full of energy and get straight to work in the mornings, rather than it getting to lunch time and realising that we haven't really got started with the day yet! Well, I'm going to let you in on a little secret! We can be like them.. it's not even that difficult! So I thought I would share a few tips on how to be a morning person, so that we can both learn a few things and hopefully at least be a bit more chirpy in the mornings! Since, now that I actually have a job lined up for the summer I'm going to have to become one of those illusive morning people and wake up at 4:45am (yes I know.. I'm not happy about it either!) wish me luck please, I'm going to need it.. haha!

1. ROUTINE // Establishing a good routine is key if you want to be more productive in the morning, set yourself a separate weekend and weekday routine where you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, perhaps waking up earlier on a weekday and giving yourself a bit of lie in on the weekend - depending on when you want your productive mornings to fit in! Eventually your body will become more accustomed to these early starts and you will actually start to wake up earlier naturally!

2. EARLY START, EARLY NIGHT! // It sounds obvious but a lot of us tend to forget that our body needs a certain amount of sleep in order to function - so if you're thinking of waking up early then make sure you also go to bed early too! If your body isn't used to going to bed earlier you can just start to introduce it naturally - go to bed 15 minutes earlier every night until you reach your goal and remember your body will thank you in the morning! It's also so important that you get a good nights sleep before waking up early - you can read my post here where I share tips on how to get a better nights sleep!

3. ALARM CLOCK // When you first introduce an earlier start to your routine you will probably need an alarm clock as your body is used to sleeping in! Make sure you choose an alarm that is perfect for you - if you need a really loud annoying alarm clock to wake you up from your deep sleep then so be it! If you prefer to wake up to your favourite song then set that as your alarm - anything to put you in a good mood straight away in the morning! Another good way of making sure you actually wake up from your alarm clock is putting it somewhere out of reach so you physically have to get out of bed to turn it off.

4. TO - DO LIST // It's a good idea before you go to bed to make yourself a to-do list for the next morning, this way you will know exactly what you want to get done and when! Also you will be less likely to hit that snooze button if you have goals set for the day!5. QUIET TIME // If the rest of your family/room mates or whoever you live with are not early risers then you can definitely benefit from this one! Give yourself a little bit of time in the morning before anyone else is awake and just sit quietly and enjoy some alone time - you can do whatever you like during this time; meditate, exercise, read, write, check social media.. Whatever floats your boat! Having this motivation of some quiet time alone will really give you a reason not to hit that snooze button and to wake up earlier!

6. LIGHT // As soon as you wake up early it's important to expose your body to light in order to 'trick' yourself into a new sleeping pattern - this can either be natural or artificial light. So in the summer I definitely recommend opening those curtains and enjoying the morning light! Obviously in the winter this is more difficult but just any old light will do!7. MAKE THE BED // As much of a pain as it is, making the bed early in the morning definitely takes away the temptation of giving up and jumping straight back into it! Obviously this one only works if you sleep alone or if you sleep with someone who also happens to be an early riser! (This definitely isn't an option for me as I do in fact sleep with a rather lazy oaf, haha!)8. COFFEE (AKA: LIFESAVER) // A nice hot mug of coffee in the morning can be exactly what you need for an early start, not only is it great motivation to get out of bed but you also get a great caffeine boost too! This one goes great with that quiet time as you can sit and have a snuggle with your mug of coffee, sounds like the perfect start to any day!

9. TREAT // Giving yourself something to look forward to can be just what you need to get out of bed in the morning! This little treat can be anything you like really, a delicious breakfast, a new chapter from your favourite book, a video on YouTube or even just a nice cup of tea or coffee! Anything that will make you wake up happy and even look forward to hearing that alarm in the morning!10. EXERCISE // Physical activity will definitely help you to wake up in the morning and is a great start to a productive day! Queue everything up the night before, like your running shoes, your weights, anything you will need... so you really can't avoid it in the morning and you can jump straight into your exercise before your body even has a chance to object!11. BREAKFAST // Never forget that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and can be just what you need to wake up happy and with loads of energy! Go with your favourite healthy breakfast, so that you not only really look forward to it but you also get the most benefit from it!12. STRETCH // A good old stretch in the morning is a great start to any day! Wake up those muscles by just simply stretching them out, or even go the whole way a do a bit of yoga - the perfect way to wake up feeling happy and productive AND also has so many health benefits both to your physical and mental health!13. SHOWER // There's nothing like having a shower early in the morning to help you feel fresh and revitalised, you can use all of your favourite soaps and shower gels that will leave you smelling beautiful and feeling fabulous! This is also a great tip for the winter when all you want to do is stay in your lovely warm bed.. go for the lovely warm shower instead!

14. MUSIC // Playing a good song that get's you up and having a boogie in the morning is perfect for any productive start to the day! Play your favourite song and dance like no one is watching - they're all still in bed anyway!!

15. MORNING BUDDY // If you can convince your fellow housemates/family/partner to wake up early with you this can be a great idea to motivate you both to wake up earlier! Not only with you have a buddy to wake you up if you're having a sneaky snooze in the morning but you can also get so much done together - perhaps you could spend some quality time with each other if you don't normally have a lot of time in the day to do so normally!

I'm the least morning person ever! I've been off work for the last 8 weeks with a broken leg and I'm dreading getting up early and getting back in the routine! Definitely going to use these tips though :)

I agree these are such fantastic tips, getting into a routine especially is so important. I have a toddler now that wakes me up early without fail haha, but before she was born I always relied on a good routine x

I used to be such a morning person but uni ruined that haha. I live with a little bit of a lazy oaf too - I wish he would get up early in the morning as it would make it so much easier for me. Maybe I should start encouraging him to haha

These are some great tips! I find that setting an objective of the day the night before makes me look forward to waking up and achieving whatever goals I've set. Especially if it's to do with photography. Lovely post xx

Hahah, this list is great. I don't think I make my bed often and that's because I'm a bit disorganized when it comes to my room. My room's an organized mess because I don't like everything being too neat. It weirds me out. My desk is another story. Having said that, I totally have to shower in the morning if I want to be productive and contribute to society!

Great post! I definitely am more of a morning person and it is probably my most productive time of the day but I can be quite bad at actually going to bed early and getting the sleep that I need!! Xxxxx